1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to car safety system, particularly collision warning system capable of alerting a driver of a collision potential.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automatic collision warning systems for a vehicle operate based on input data relating to the mental and physical condition of the driver including his behavior during adverse road conditions. The input data can be used by the systems to generate output control affecting timing of audio, visual, and tactile collision warnings.
The state of the art for present collision warning systems may require an input from the operator of the vehicle by way of a dash-mounted control knob. The precise degree of this input is the operator's best judgment as to whether they are an aggressive or conservative driver. A mis-interpretation of this characteristic, or simply a mis-adjustment, can have severe consequences on the performance of the collision warning system.
Another known danger avoidance system includes a driver monitoring system for monitoring the driver's physical condition and behavior such as the driver's line of sight, the blinking of the driver, the blood pressure, the pulse count, and the body temperature. The data from the driver monitoring system coupled with the data from other monitoring systems such as the ambient condition monitoring system and vehicle condition monitoring system are used as the basis to prompt danger recognition that effectuates the danger avoidance system to give warning. The shortcoming of the system includes warning given too early for a driver who is aggressive in driving behavior, who tends to drive fast and keeps a short distance from the leading vehicle. On the other hand, the warning may be too late for a driver who is conservative in driving behavior, who tends to drive slowly and keeps a long distance from the leading car.
An error in one direction causes false alarms which are feared to be the primary cause of the above types of systems being disabled, and then of no benefit at all. And an error in the other direction may allow the system to alert so late as to be useless, and thereby possibly aiding in the potential accident and creating a liability situation.